Plans for a new play area in Bourne have taken a big step forward with new donations and positive discussions with conservation officers.

Bourne2Play – the charity set up three years ago to get rundown play equipment on the Wellhead replaced – has just received a cheque for £10,000 from The Len Pick Trust, plus £1,324 from Bourne’s Sainsbury’s store.

That means the fundraising total currently stands at around £92,000, with the £110,000 target now in sight.

Bourne2Play is also hopeful that a solution has been found to a problem which threatened to delay the project.

Because the Wellhead Park is located on land once occupied by Bourne Castle, permission for the new play area development has had to be sought from Historic England, which raised concerns over the depth of foundations required for the equipment.

Bourne2Play chairman Anna Rogers said she was confident a way forward had been been found.

She said: “It is now planned the play equipment will be built on a concrete plinth and this will mean the ground will not need to be disturbed beyond a depth of 200mm, which was a limit we had to stick to.

“There have been some very positive developments on this and I am hopeful we will soon have permission from Historic England to progress.

“After that, we just need planning permission from South Kesteven District Council. We are aiming to have the play area built and ready for use in spring or summer of this year.

“When we started work on this project three years ago, I never thought it would take this long. But we are making good progress.

“The Wellhead is a beautiful site and the play area will be a huge improvement over the equipment which is currently there.”

The Len Pick Trust agreed to make a £10,000 donation after Bourne2Play submitted an application for help.

Trust chairman Kay Henderson said: “As a trust set up for the benefit of the townspeople of Bourne we were very pleased to help out.”

The town’s Sainbury’s store designated Bourne2Play as its charity of the year for 2016 and recently handed over £1,324.

Anna added: “We are very grateful for all of the support we have received.”